AL man recovering after e-cigarette explodes in pocket

A censored photo of Jason Kromer's leg injury. Not blurred is the e-cigarette battery that exploded in his pocket. (Source: Jason Kromer)

Jason Kromer said he was about to sit down for breakfast when flames covered his leg. The cause? An exploding e-cigarette. (Source: Jason Kromer)

VERBENA, AL (WSFA) -

An Alabama man who recently switched from regular cigarettes to e-cigarettes found himself suffering serious injuries over the weekend when the device exploded in his pocket "like a grenade".

Jason Kromer, 33, gave up cigarettes six months ago for an alternative. He said he hadn't had any problems with his e-cigarette until the weekend. He was about to sit down to eat breakfast at a friend's house Saturday morning when suddenly, he found his leg covered in flames.

"At first, I wasn't sure what was happening," he explained. "All I know is I was standing there fine one second and the next I was on fire."

"It's literally an explosion, a super-hot explosion," Dr. Anne Wagner of the University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) Burn Center told NBC Newsin March 2016. By that point in the year, Wagner said UCH had treated six people seriously injured by e-cigarettes.

A year later, a Denver TV station compiled a list of at least 34 e-cig explosions in Colorado alone for 2016. That's nearly 10 more cases in one state for one year than the U.S. Fire Administration could compile for a report covering a five-year period. [Read more below].

"It hurts like no pain I have ever experienced," Kromer said, adding he may ultimately have to have a skin graft to cover the damage.

"Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-operated devices that deliver nicotine in a vapor form by heating a solution commonly comprised of propylene glycol, nicotine, and flavoring ingredients. Since entering the U.S. market in 2007, e-cigarettes have attracted a growing supply of consumers, and sales are expected to increase in the years ahead. Safety concerns have been raised by incidents involving e-cigarette fires and explosions."

(Anatomy of an e-cigarette. Source: Ecigtopia)

In a 2014 report from the U.S. Fire Administration, FEMA estimates approximately 2.5 million Americans use e-cigarettes, and that while fires or explosions are "rare", at least 25 incidents were reported by the media between 2009 and 2014. None of those incidents resulted in death.

"The shape and construction of e-cigarettes can make them more likely than other products with lithium-ion batteries to behave like “flaming rockets” when a battery fails," the report noted.

Kromer said he's heard news before of the devices exploding but never thought it could happen to him. He said now he's done using the e-cigarettes, and while he hasn't filed a report at this point, Kromer said he is considering contacting an attorney.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to clarify the metal piece in the included photo is of the device's battery, not the device itself.